The First Annual Halloween Competition of Love
by lickitysplit
Summary: Princess Elizabeth has organized a fundraiser to help in the recovery of Lioness, and must turn to the Seven Deadly Sins for help when things don't turn out quite the way she expected. One-shot.


**Summary:** Princess Elizabeth has organized a fundraiser to help in the recovery of Lioness, and must turn to the Seven Deadly Sins for help when things don't turn out quite the way she expected.

 **A/N:** Happy Halloween everyone! This is a one-shot that I wrote for my good friend BettyBest2. She challenged me to write a story for the holiday, and I decided to deviate from my usual fare and do something silly. I also want to give a big shout-out to my good friends Woundedowl and Cerulean Grace, who read through the story for me before publishing. I probably would not have gotten this together if it wasn't for them. So if you don't like it, blame Cerulean Grace, as she's the one who convinced me to post! ;D

This is set after episode 2 of _Signs of Holy War_. Please enjoy!

* * *

The Seven Deadly Sins entered Castle Lioness prepared for battle. They had gotten a royal summons from the third princess, asking for their immediate help with a dire matter. As soon as the message had arrived at the Boar Hat, the Captain had rounded up the rest and hurried them straight away. "It must be something serious if Elizabeth is asking us to come," he told them.

Diane had agreed right away, but the others grumbled. King yawned as Ban muttered a complaint, both just getting up from a terrible hangover. Meliodas had frowned in disappointment at both of them, but then even Merlin had protested going. "If there was truly an emergency, we would know," she said with folded arms.

"What about you, Gowther?" Meliodas grumbled after giving the mage a vicious scowl.

Gowther looked up from his book and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Are we doing something?" he asked.

But it was Hawk who finally got the rest moving. "Hey!" he squealed, stomping his hooves on the ground. "If Elizabeth needs our help, then we need to go! Now get your lazy asses moving!"

No one wanted to face a Rolling Pork Attack, so Meliodas finally got them going with some promises of cracking open a case of Bernia later and a few threats from Diane (that really only worked on King). There was a page waiting for them when they arrived, who quickly escorted them to the main courtyard.

"Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth waved excitedly and hurried over, catching up her yellow dress as she ran. She weaved her way through the groups of servants who were hurrying around, carrying tables and piles of trays and fabrics and food. Meliodas could not help but smile at her flushed cheeks as she finally reached them. "Thank you so much for coming!"

"So what's the problem?" King asked, looking around. "What is going on? Some kind of evacuation?"

"No," Elizabeth laughed. "We're getting ready for the Halloween Festival."

"What does that have to do with us?" Ban yawned, stretching a hand out to snatch a chocolate truffle from a tray as a servant hurried by.

Elizabeth flashed a huge smile. "I actually need your help," she said cheerily. "I was hoping you would act as judges for the festival's contest."

She blinked several times as she looked from one Sin to another, her smile frozen on her face; but when none of them reacted, her excitement faltered. "Please! There is a fee to enter the contest, and we are raising money to help those who lost their homes in the- in the battle." Her cheeks blushed a rose color with the last bit. "We're sure to have more come out if they know the Seven Deadly Sins will be there to judge… You _are_ all heroes, after all."

"I don't know, Elizabeth," Meliodas said, one hand moving to scratch the back of his head. "If there's going to be a festival in town, I should move the Boar Hat into the city and try to get some business going."

"Oh." Elizabeth's smile was gone, and her head hung a bit. "Well, I understand."

"Don't worry!" Diane said, bending down to get closer to the princess. "King and I will help. Right, King?" The Grizzly Sin began to stammer an excuse, but then the giantess beamed at him, and King turned a furious shade of red. "Well—I suppose, for the kingdom—"

"I'll help as well," said Merlin with an amused smile. "For the kingdom."

"Great!" Diane exclaimed as King buried his face into his pillow. "Gowther and Ban too, right guys?"

Gowther agreed, but Ban scratched his chin. "What's the competition about?"

Excited now that the others were helping, Elizabeth happily explained, "It will be three challenges, for teams of two. Simple things, really, like—"

"Yeah yeah," Ban interrupted, waving his hand. "But what's the prize?"

"Oh!" Elizabeth blushed furiously again, her hands clenching together tightly. "Well, it's, um… the prize is a kiss from one of the princesses."

Ban huffed in disappointment. "Well, I can't buy ale with that. Who would play for that?"

Her coloring deepened as she hurriedly went on, "It was Veronica's idea. She thought it would be enough to get some people to want to sign up-"

"I'll sign up!" Meliodas proclaimed, slamming his fist in his palm. "Having us in the contest is even better than the Seven Deadly Sins as judges, right?"

Elizabeth gasped. "Would you—would you really?"

"Of course, Elizabeth! Anything for you!" He smiled thoughtfully as she squealed and threw her arms around him in a hug. Meliodas put his arms around her waist, his hand roaming aggressively over her rear. "Ban can be my partner, right, Ban?"

Ban made a face. "Forget it. I don't want a kiss from a princess."

"Great! It's all settled then," he said, giving the princess a hard pinch. She yelped and jumped away as Meliodas proclaimed, "I will enter and win the First Annual Halloween Competition of Love!"

* * *

Three days later, most of the city's citizens and many from around Lioness piled into the castle. The gates were wide open to accommodate everyone, and the courtyard was filled with little carts with food and games for adults and children to play. Even though a large portion of the city was still under construction, many of the shops opened anyway to serve the crowds that roamed around.

It seemed like all of Lioness had turned up to celebrate, including the residents of the Boar Hat. Meliodas had made good on his word and moved the tavern to just outside the city's walls, and had two very successful nights as people began to arrive for the festival. Those travelling in for the festivities would not give up the opportunity to see the legendary Seven Deadly Sins, or drink from their even more legendary bar.

However, the tavern was closed the day of the competition, and the Sins and Hawk made their way down to the castle early. Meliodas had expected Elizabeth to be in a good mood with the festival such an early success, but instead he found her looking disappointed. "Hey Elizabeth!" he said when he found her, his brows drawn downwards. "What's wrong?"

"It's the competition," she said sadly. "We may have to cancel."

"Cancel!" he shouted. "Why?!"

"Well," Elizabeth continued nervously, "you see, Sir Meliodas, when everyone found out you had signed up, most of the other teams dropped out. Your… competition with Sir Ban last week seems to have frightened away the other entries."

"That's great news!" he said. "Less competition for me."

Elizabeth sighed. "But without the entry fees, then there won't be enough to help pay for the repairs the people need on their homes."

"I see," he said, tapping a finger on his lips. "Are there no teams left?"

"No, there are two others besides you and Sir Ban," she answered. "There is Gilthunder and Griamore—"

Meliodas laughed. "Little Gil! And Griamore! I should have known they'd want the chance for kisses from the princesses. And who is the third?"

"Sir Howzer," Elizabeth said. "But he may be eliminated. He can't find a partner."

Nodding, Meliodas gave the princess smile. "Don't worry about anything, Elizabeth. I have an idea. Just leave it to me!"

Meanwhile, the rest of the Sins gathered in the center of the yard, greeted by Princess Margaret. "Thank you so much for agreeing to this," she said with one of her soft smiles. "You are doing Lioness a great service."

"Oh, it's nothing," said Diane, who had shrunk herself down with a pill that morning in order to fit in easier with the crowd. "We're super excited, aren't we?"

Ban and King grumbled as Howzer hurried over, ignoring the group as he said to the princess, "Am I still in it? How much time do I have left?"

Margaret nodded. "You have until noon before we get started, but I'm afraid that will be here rather soon."

"What's wrong?" Diane asked, and Howzer looked over and jumped as if seeing them for the first time. "Diane! I didn't recognize you there!"

Diane blushed and put her hands behind her back with a smile. Annoyed, King moved in front of her and said, "What about the rest of us?"

"I'm sorry, Sir King," Howzer said breathlessly. "I've been trying to find a partner for the competition, and I've been running—wait a minute," he said. "Would any of you be interested…?"

"I'm already in this stupid thing," Ban said. "But I'm sure King would love to."

King yelped when he heard his name, glaring up at the Fox Sin. "Are you kidding me? I'm not helping him!"

"We would still have three judges," Gowther said. "Your absence would not be missed."

Fuming, King stomped his foot. "I don't _want_ to—"

"Aww, King," Diane said sadly. "Won't you help out a friend?"

"But-but Diane…" He trailed off, trying to think of an excuse, but then Ban leaned down and muttered in his ear, "If you help Howzer win, maybe a kiss from a princess will turn his attention from a certain giantess."

King pushed him away in aggravation, but then paused as he considered the idea. He watched as Diane put a comforting arm on the sullen knight's shoulder, and then ground his teeth as he said, "Fine. I'll do it."

"Yes!" Howzer shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "Let's do this!" He clapped King on the back, sending the fairy sprawling face-first on the ground. "No time to lay around!" Howzer said, hauling him up and tucking him under his arm before hurrying off. "We need to get ready for the first round!"

* * *

"Round One!" Veronica exclaimed. "It's time to start Round One!"

It seemed as if everyone in Lioness had turned up for the tournament, and the three teams all gathered together in front of where Diane, Merlin, and Gowther sat with the princesses to act as judges. "Where is Hawk?" Elizabeth asked Diane, leaning over to speak over the noise from the crowd. "He would hate to miss this!"

Diane only shrugged as they turned their attention back to Veronica. "Round One will be a pumpkin toss. Each contestant will have one chance to throw a pumpkin as far as they can. The team with the furthest combined total will win!"

The crowd roared in answer as the three teams lined up. "Hey guys!" Howzer called, waving from the spot he shared with King. "Best of luck to you!"

"And you," boomed Griamore, leaning over to shake his hand firmly. Meliodas waved and called out a "good luck!" to the other groups, but when Gilthunder turned to Ban with a hand extended, the Fox Sin looked down at it with a laugh. "I can't wait to suck face with that Margaret," he said with a smile.

Gilthunder drew back, his hand flying to his sword. "You take that back!"

He turned his back on the Holy Knight, who had to be held back by Griamore. "Save it for the competition!" Griamore said fiercely.

Ban shrugged. "Maybe I'll go for the short one instead. We'll see." He grinned to himself when he heard the large man snap, "What was that?" and leaned over to the Captain. "Let's wipe the floor with these guys," he laughed.

Meliodas was doing a series of stretches and did not answer. Meanwhile, a cart was wheeled out, and each team was given two very large pumpkins. "We'll start with Howzer and King!" Veronica announced.

"Yeah!" Howzer shouted, raising his pumpkin easily over his head as the crowd roared. He reared back and threw with all his might, and the pumpkin sailed over the tops of the buildings. It took a few moments for them to locate it in the city. "Sir Howzer threw his pumpkin 212 meters!" it was announced, and the crowd went wild.

Howzer pumped his fist and then clapped his hand soundly on King's back, making the fairy stumble. "Come on, King!" he encouraged.

King huffed and pushed his sleeves up. Walking over to the pumpkin, which was about a third of his size, King gave a huge roar, making the crowd go crazy. Then he reached out, hauled the pumpkin into his arms, and threw.

The pumpkin landed a meter away, on its side, and rolled several more inches before coming to a stop.

Several people came running over to measure, and King shouted, "Do you really have to—?" But before he could stop them one yelled, "Sir King threw his pumpkin 1.3 meters!"

The crowd absolutely roared with laughter, and King turned several shades of red and drew his hood up to cover his face. "Great job guys!" Diane cheered, and he hid even further in his jacket as Howzer gave her a wink and a wave.

"Gilthunder and Griamore!" Veronica shouted. "Your turn!"

More cheering came then for the two famous Holy Knights. They grinned at one another and stepped up, both picking up their pumpkins at the same time. "One, two, three!" they said in unison, and threw.

Gilthunder waved to the crowd as they awaited the measurement, but Griamore stood perfectly still, his face carved into a small smile. A minute later, the announcement was made: "Sir Gilthunder, 223 meters! And Sir Griamore, 258 meters!"

The two knights celebrated, and even Howzer shouted a "Great job!" at them. But then everyone, both the crowd and the contestants, quieted down as Veronica announced, "Meliodas and Ban!"

"Come on, Cap!" Ban said, and the two Sins fist bumped as they stepped up to their pumpkins. Both picked them up easily, and Ban swung his pumpkin over his shoulder, winding up and letting go with a yell. Then he looked down at Meliodas, who was still holding his. "What are you waiting for?"

"Here I go!" Meliodas said. He hopped backwards, then spun three times before letting his pumpkin go. But instead of sailing over the rooftops, the pumpkin went straight up into the air, disappearing behind a cloud.

"Oops!" Meliodas said, scratching his head. Everyone scurried around, trying to figure out what to do, while Ban frowned down at Meliodas. "What did you do that for?" he huffed.

"It slipped!" answered the captain apologetically. Meanwhile, Veronica stepped up and announced, "Sir Ban's pumpkin went 423 meters! A new record!"

The crowd positively went wild as the judges spoke to each other. "What are we going to do about Meliodas' throw?" Merlin asked.

They spent several more minutes puzzling until someone from the crowd yelled, "Look!" Everyone looked up and saw the pumpkin falling quickly back to earth. People began screaming and running for cover, and when the pumpkin finally reached the ground, the impact caused it to smash into a hundred pieces and form a crater in the stone street.

Meliodas stepped up and looked at where just the stump remained. "Looks to be about 3.4 meters to me. I beat King, but not enough to beat Gil and Griamore." He looked sheepishly over his shoulder. "Sorry, Ban."

The cheering went on for quite a while as tables were brought out for the next part of the competition. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Veronica announced as the crowd quieted down. "Next we will have a pie eating competition!"

"Finally, something I'm good at!" Meliodas said, rubbing his hands eagerly as they took their places behind the table.

"Competitors!" Veronica continued. "We have 10 pies for each of you. The first team to eat all 20 of their pies will win!"

Servants brought out stacks of steaming hot fruit pies, and the crowd cheered again as Veronica yelled for them to begin. Each man tore into the first pie laid out in front of him, all using their hands, except for Meliodas, who was using a fork and knife.

"Really, Captain?" Ban shouted at him between mouthfuls. "You gotta eat faster!"

"I'm not kissing Elizabeth with pie all over my face!" Meliodas scolded. Ban just growled and looked down the table.

The other teams were even with him, but everyone was at least halfway through, while Meliodas was still on his first. Then, Ban smiled. "Watch this," he murmured to Meliodas, who choked on a mouthful of pie.

"Ban! Don't-" But it was too late. He saw Ban twitch his hand under the table, and suddenly, the rest of the contestants put down their food and groaned. "I think I'm done," Gilthunder said, pushing away the pie plate in front of him.

"Me too," moaned King, who slumped forward onto the table.

"Ban!" hissed Meliodas. "Did you snatch their appetites?" But the Sin of Greed simply grinned and shouted, "I'm hungrier than ever!" Then he easily ate the rest of his pile before leaning over and finishing the rest of Meliodas' pies.

"We have a winner!" Veronica declared, and everyone cheered.

"You're going to regret that when the ability wears out," Meliodas warned him as he dabbed his chin with a napkin.

Ban scoffed. "It'll be worth it to see the look on Gil's face when I kiss his girl."

The tables were removed quickly as the contestants stood together. "All tied up!" Gilthunder said happily. "And we have this next one in the bag, for sure!"

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Howzer scoffed. "We could pull this one out."

Ban leaned over and whispered to Meliodas, "What's the last competition?"

The captain looked up at him curiously. "Didn't you read the information when we signed up?" When Ban just shrugged, Meliodas said, "Don't worry, I got it covered."

"The last competition," Veronica announced, "will be a costume contest between the contestants!" The crowd applauded loudly, a few whistles and cheers going up. "The contestants will have thirty minutes to find items to make new, original costumes and be back here to show them off before the judges. Keep in mind that this is our _final_ challenge, and will determine the _winner_ of the tiebreaker and the entire competition!"

The crowd cheered again as Veronica declared the competition to begin, and each team took off running in different directions. Ban was hot on Meliodas' heels as they navigated through the streets, shouting, "Where are we going?"

"Back to the Boar Hat!" Meliodas answered. "I have something all ready for us!"

They raced back to the tavern, and when they hopped up the steps and inside, the place was quiet and empty. "Here," Meliodas said, hurrying behind the bar. He pulled out a trunk and opened it, digging through. "I knew it was going to be something about costumes, so I grabbed these just in case."

He stood and held up formal dress clothes from Camelot. Two suits, with rich fabrics and fancy ties and silk shirts, and carried them around the end of the bar. "What do you think? We can dress up and go as Camelot aristocrats."

Ban smiled. "Nice. That'll be—" But the Sin did not get to share his thoughts on the matter, because he immediately vomited all over both suits.

"Ban!" Meliodas yelled in disgust. Quickly he carried the now-ruined costumes out the door, tossing them into the pile of garbage outside. "Now what are we going to do?" he said as he walked back inside.

Ban was behind the bar, gargling with a mug of ale. "You know," he said, wiping his chin with his sleeve, "we would be winning this thing if it wasn't for your trick with the pumpkin. What the hell was that?"

"I told you," Meliodas said, rather offended, "it slipped." He thought a moment before saying, "Just give me your clothes."

"Hm?" the Fox Sin asked, finishing his drink. "My clothes?"

Meliodas nodded. "Yeah, let's switch outfits. Then we can go as each other."

"Are you crazy?" Ban laughed. "That'll never work."

The captain shrugged. "It's that or we grab a couple of Elizabeth's extra uniforms."

"Dressing as each other it is," Ban said, unbuttoning his red jacket.

It proved rather difficult for both Sins to make it back to the competition with their costumes, as Ban could barely raise his arms or move his hips to walk in the captain's tight clothing, while Meliodas was constantly tripping over his friend's pants and dragging the sleeves of his jacket up his arms. But they made it just in time, just as the other two teams also arrived.

No one was surprised to see the elaborately sewn costumes that King and Howzer wore, as the Grizzly Sin was rather adept at sewing. He was dressed as fine royalty, a crown perched on his head and a long red cape hanging from his shoulders. Howzer was also dressed as royalty; however, he was the queen to Harlequin's king, and the crowd laughed as he stood there uncomfortably in a pink ball gown. "Did I have to be a girl?" Howzer hissed at him.

King frowned. "Someone had to do it!" he scolded, turning so he could smile to himself.

But a gasp went up as Griamore and Gilthunder arrived, because they too were dressed in very distinct costumes. Griamore wore a red leather suit with silver studs along the sides of the arms and legs, while Gilthunder was dressed in a white shirt, black vest and pants, and black ankle boots. They even wore wigs, Griamore sporting a spiked gray one and Gilthunder in a messy blonde one.

Ban and Meliodas, dressed as Meliodas and Ban, looked in shock at the other Meliodas and Ban, who were really Gilthunder and Griamore. "Well this is awkward," Meliodas said with a laugh, running his hand through his hair.

"This is more than awkward!" Veronica declared. "This is direct violation of the rules!"

"What rules?" Ban growled.

Veronica put her hands on her hips. "No two teams can wear the same costumes. You are both disqualified. Which means that Sir Howzer and Sir King win this round!"

Howzer gave a great whoop, his dress ripping a bit as he punched the air in victory. The crowd cheered and laughed as he celebrated, the other two teams scowling at each other in disappointment. "How did you know what we were wearing?" Griamore demanded of the Sins.

"We didn't," Meliodas said. "We just had a bit of trouble with our costumes."

There was a lot of debate going on at the judges' table, however, and after a minute Elizabeth rushed over. "I'm terribly sorry," she said as they gathered around. Her cheeks blushed as she said, "Since each team has won, then we have a tie."

"A tie!" King yelled.

"Does that mean we each get a kiss?" Ban asked.

Elizabeth giggled. "No, sorry. In a tie, no one wins."

All six contestants groaned as Veronica stood and announced the judges' decision to the crowd. Ban glared over at them, noting Merlin's smile as Meliodas nodded towards her. "Hey," he said, nudging Meliodas' shoulder. "Did you do something?"

"No way!" he said. "I wanted to get a kiss." He pouted a bit and then headed off, and Ban watched his blonde head disappear into the crowd.

* * *

Later that evening, the Boar Hat was filled with customers as everyone piled in to celebrate the end of the Halloween Festival. Gilthunder, Griamore, and Howzer sat at the bar, enjoying one round after another with Meliodas. Ban was still sulking a bit, sticking to his station and not speaking much, but King was happily helping Diane with tables. "I really didn't want to have to kiss one of the princesses," he confessed to her.

"It was still sweet of you to help Howzer," she said, rewarding him with a kiss on the cheek. His nose bled for a short time after that, and then he spent the rest of the night in a daze, laying on top of his pillow.

The night wore on until it as time to close, and the patrons began to file out, last of all the three Holy Knights. "Come on, let's head back," Gilthunder said, helping Howzer up from his stool.

"Ya know," Meliodas said, leaning over the bar. "I'll bet if you stop at the castle, you'd end up with your kisses after all."

"You really think?" Howzer slurred, and then promptly passed out. Gil grabbed his arms and Griamore grabbed his legs, and with calls of good-bye they headed out the door. Elizabeth followed them and shut it behind them, pulling the lock on the door tightly.

The other Sins wandered off after the cleaning was done, and as Elizabeth hung up her apron Meliodas said, "Hey, before you go to bed, I have something to show you."

"Something for me?" she said. Meliodas grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling the princess behind him as they headed for the storage room. He rapped his knuckles a couple of times on the door and a small voice shouted, "Come in!"

"Just me," Meliodas said as he opened the door. "Are you done?"

Elizabeth gasped as they stepped inside. Hawk was perched up on a tall chair, his front legs leaning over a small table. He was surrounded by piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins, and he grinned at them and said, "I just finished! We made over three thousand!"

"Three… what is all this?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's yours," Meliodas explained with a smile. "Well, not yours exactly. It's for the fundraiser."

Elizabeth shook her head. "What do you mean? Where did this come from?"

Meliodas laughed. "You said everyone withdrew their entrance fees when I signed up, and I told you not to worry about it. So I had Hawk taking bets all day on who would win. He gave pretty good odds too, from what I heard."

"Yup!" Hawk interjected. "But since it was a three-way tie and no one won, we got to keep all the money that was put down!"

Elizabeth pressed a hand to her cheek. "How did you do all this?" She turned her wide eyes to Meliodas. "I mean, what if it hadn't been a tie? You would have lost so much money!"

Meliodas shrugged. "Nah, I would have figured something out. But do you think this is enough?"

"It's wonderful!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She threw her arms around the captain and squeezed him tightly. "Thank you so, so much!"

"Awww," Meliodas said, patting her on the back. "I'm just glad to have helped."

"Hey Elizabeth," Hawk said as the princess straightened back up. "Don't you think someone ought to get a kiss from a princess for all this?"

Elizabeth blushed and gave a little giggle. "You're absolutely right."

Meliodas cleared his throat, a huge grin growing on his face. However, to his surprise Elizabeth leaned over and gave Hawk a kiss right on the top of the head. "You were wonderful today, Hawk! Thank you!"

He did not even have time to protest as the princess immediately spun on her heel and hurried out the door. "Wait until my sisters hear this!" she said excitedly as the door closed behind her.

"You threw the competition, didn't you?" Hawk said, giving Meliodas a critical eye. But the Dragon Sin simply shrugged and followed the princess back out of the storage room, determined to get his kiss.


End file.
